Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hydrological Variability and Climate of the Upper Blue Nile River Basin

  • Chapter
Nile River Basin

Abstract

This chapter discusses the hydrometeorology, land use, soils, topography, agroecological zones, extreme flows, climatic variability and climatic teleconnections of the upper Blue Nile River basin. The basin has a varied topography, rainfall and temperature resulting in different agroclimatic zones. Spatial distribution of annual rainfall over the basin shows high variation with the southern tip receiving as high as 2,049 mm and the northeastern tip as low as 794 mm annual average rainfall. The analysis of the basin’s river flow and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index connectivity indicates that the upper Blue Nile River basin rainfall and flows are teleconnected to the ENSO index. Based on event correspondence analysis, high rainfall and high flows are likely to occur during La Niña years and dry years are likely to occur during El Niño years at a confidence level of 90%. Low and high flow analysis for selected tributaries and flow at the Blue Nile River flow shows different recurrence intervals of the high and low flows.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abtew W, Melesse A, Dessalegne T (2009a) Spatial, inter and intra-annual variability of the upper Blue Nile River basin rainfall. Hydrol Process 23:3075–3082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abtew W, Melesse AM, Dessalegne T (2008) Characteristics of monthly and annual rainfall of the upper Blue Nile Basin. In Abtew W, Melesse AM (ed) Proceedings of the 2008 workshop on the Nile basin hydrology and ecology under extreme climatic condition. Aardvark Global Publishing, Salt Lake City, UT

    Google Scholar 

  • Abtew W, Melesse AM, Dessalegne T (2009b) El Niño Southern Oscillation link to the Blue Nile River basin hydrology. Hydrol Process 23:3653–3660

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abtew W, Trimble P (2009) El Niño Southern Oscillation link to South Florida hydrology and water management applications. Technical Paper SFWMD # 106, South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL

    Google Scholar 

  • Azene B, Birnie A, Tengnas B (1993) Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia. Identification, propagation and management for agricultural and pastoral communities. Regional Soil Conservation Unit, SIDA, Nairobi

    Google Scholar 

  • Bewket W, Conway D (2007) A Note on the temporal and spatial variability of rainfall in the drought-prone Amhara region of Ethiopia. Int J Climatol 27:1467–1477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway D, Mould C, Bewket W (2004) Over one century of rainfall and temperature observations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Int J Climatol 24:77–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway D (2000) The Climate and hydrology of the Upper Blue Nile River. Geogra J 166(1):49–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Pauw E, Bruggeman HY (1988) A Summary of the agricultural ecology of Ethiopia. Prepared under FAO projects food information systems (GCPS/ETH/044/NOR), zonation and calibration for project planning (TCP/ETH/6658), Master Land Use Plan (ETH/82/010), FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Degefu GT (2003) The Nile historical legal and developmental perspectives. Trafford Publishing, St. Victoria, BC, Canada

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldaw AK, Salas JD, Garcia LA (2003) Long-range forecasting of the Nile River flows using climatic forcing. J Appl Meteorol 42:890–904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eltahir EAB (1996) El Niño and the natural variability in the flow of the Nile River. Water Resour Res 32(1):131–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enfield DB, Nunez AM, Trimble PJ (2001) The AMO and its relationship to rainfall and river flow in the continental US. Geophys Res Lett 28(10):2077–2080

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2002) Major Soils of the World. Land and Water Digital Media Series (CD-ROM). Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Friis-Christensen E, Lassen K (1991) Length of the solar cycle: an indicator of solar activity closely associated with climate. Science 254:698–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garbrecht JD, Piechota TC (2006) Climatic variations, climate change, and water resources engineering, ASCE, Reston, Virginia

    Google Scholar 

  • Gissila T, Black E, Grimes DIF, Slingo JM (2004) Seasonal forecasting of the Ethiopian summer rains. Int J Climatol 24:1345–1358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GlobCover (2008) ttp://ionia1.esrin.esa.int/images/GLOBCOVER_Product_Specification_v2.pdf. Accessed on 10 Jan 2010

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood JA, Durand D (1960) Aids for fitting the gamma distribution by maximum likelihood. Technometrics 2(1):55–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haan C (1977) Statistical methods in hydrology. The Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA

    Google Scholar 

  • Jury MR, Enfield DB (2002) Tropical monsoons around Africa: stability of El Niño-Southern Oscillation associations and links with continental climate. J Geophys Res 107(C10):3151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kebede S, Travi Y, Alemayehu T, Marc V (2006) Water balance of Lake Tana and its sensitivity to fluctuations in rainfall, Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. J Hydrol 316:233–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loon HV, Meehl GA, Arblaster JM (2004) A decadal solar effect in the tropics in July-August. J Atmos Sol Terr Phys 22(18):1767–1778

    Google Scholar 

  • Maidment DR (1993) Handbook of hydrology. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Melesse A, Abtew W, Desalegn T, Wang X (2009) Low and high flow analysis and wavelet application for characterization of the blue Nile River system, Hydrol Process 24(3):241–252

    Google Scholar 

  • NASA (2009). ASTER Global DEM. http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gdem-wist.asp. Accessed on Nov 2009

  • NOAA (2008) Global reservoir and lake elevation database. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/fews/africa/briefing.html. Accessed on 20 Sept 2008

  • Obeysekera J, Trimble P, Neidrauer C, Pathak C, VanArman J, Strowd T, Hall C (2007) Consideration of long-term climatic variability in regional modeling for SFWMD planning and operations. In: Redfield G (ed) The 2007 South Florida environmental report. Chapter 2: hydrology of the South Florida environment. South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL

    Google Scholar 

  • Pankhurst R (1966) The great Ethiopian famine of 1888–1892: a new assessment part one. J Hist Med Allied Sci XXI:95–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peggy AJ, Curtis D (1994) Water Balance of Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia. J Irrig Drain Eng 120(3):573–590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putter TD, Loutre MF, Wansard G (1998) Decadal periodicities of Nile River historical discharge (A.D. 622–1470) and climate implications. Geophys Res Lett 25(16):3193–3196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seleshi Y, Zanke U (2004) Recent changes in rainfall and rainy days in Ethiopia. Int J Climatol 24:973–983

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Setegn SG, Srinivasan R, Melesse A, Dargahil B (2009) SWAT model application and prediction uncertainty analysis in the Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia. Hydrol Process 24(3):357–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Snedecor GW, Cochran WG (1980) Statistical methods. The Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA

    Google Scholar 

  • Soon W, Baliunas S, Posmentier ES, Okeke P (2000) Variations of solar coronal hole area and terrestrial lower tropospheric air temperature from 1979 to mid-1998: astronomical forcings of change in earth’s climate. New Astronomy 4(8):563–579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stager JC, Ryves D, Cumming BF, Meeker LD, Beer J (2005) Solar variability and the levels of Lake Victoria, East Africa, during the last millennium. J Paleolimnol 33(2):243–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas BE (2007) Climatic fluctuations and forecasting of streamflow in the lower Colorado River basin. J Am Water Resour Assoc 43(6):550–1569

    Google Scholar 

  • Trenberth KE (1997) The Definition of El Niño. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 78(12):2771–2777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trimble P, Santee ER, Neidrauer C (1997) Including the effects of solar activity for more efficient water management: an application of neural networks. Special Report, South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL

    Google Scholar 

  • USDA-FAS (2003) Agroecological zones of Ethiopia. http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad2/highlights/2002/10/ethiopia/baseline/Eth_Agroeco_Zones.htm. Accessed 12 Dec 2009

  • Verstraete MM, Pinty B, Curran PJ (1999) MERIS potential for land applications. Int J Rem Sens 20:1747–1756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker GT, Bliss EW (1930) World weather IV 3(24):81–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Walpole RE, Myers RH (1985) Probability and statistics for engineers and scientists. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang EY, Trimble P (1996) Forecasting water availability by applying neural networks with global and solar indices. In: Proceedings of the 16th Annual American Geophysical Union. Hydrology Days, Atherton, pp 1–13

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Modesto A. Maidique Campus, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Assefa M. Melesse

  2. South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, FL, USA

    Wossenu Abtew

  3. Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Shimelis G. Setegn

  4. Natural and Water Resources Department, BEM Systems, Inc., West Palm Beach, FL, USA

    Tibebe Dessalegne

Authors
  1. Assefa M. Melesse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wossenu Abtew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shimelis G. Setegn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tibebe Dessalegne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Assefa M. Melesse .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 33199, Miami, Florida, USA

    Assefa M. Melesse

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Melesse, A.M., Abtew, W., Setegn, S.G., Dessalegne, T. (2011). Hydrological Variability and Climate of the Upper Blue Nile River Basin. In: Melesse, A.M. (eds) Nile River Basin. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0689-7_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation